Express-Scripts plans $56 million expansion and 1,500 new jobs over five years

St. Louis is headed to the top ten in college attainment.

Featured Item

A pillar of our economic development strategy is that, “We will win on today’s regional strengths in focused economic clusters. Explore in detail the four sectors that we believe will shape our region’s future.

“The Banker” … from Central Park West to Washington Avenue

Featured Item

More

Featured Item

We’ve condensed a detailed three-year plan into a single paragraph we call our Strategy Statement. It’s all about priorities and direction.

Featured Item

Our research team has probably answered almost any question that could be asked regarding the St. Louis region. If you can't find it in our Regional Data section, please send a note to Tim Alexander at talexander@stlregionalchamber.com.

More

Featured Item

Inner City Capital Connections Program has come to St. Louis. To date, this program has helped 837 different businesses raise over $1.32 billion in capital and create over 11,000 jobs in the inner city. Read more about the program on our blog.

Featured Item

We believe nothing is more important in St. Louis than achieving Top 10 status in college attainment among the nation's largest metros. Visit www.topteneducation.org to follow our progress.

Featured Item

If your company represents growth potential for the region -- or you know of other companies that do -- we'd be pleased to help however we can. Please contact Jim Alexander at jalexander@stlregionalchamber.com

Featured Item

Featured Item

St. Louis is home to 16 Fortune 1000 companies and some of the largest private firms in the U.S.; but don't overlook the ever increasing number of high growth small-to-medium enterprises and startups. Click here for a quick summary.

St. Louis Press Pass

SixThirty, the St. Louis startup accelerator that specializes in the financial services technology industry, has announced six new seed-stage companies that will each receive $100,000 investments in return for an equity stake.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Atul Kamra, SixThirty managing partner

St. Louis behind the curve when it comes to gender equity in business (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 10/2/15)

St. Louis ranks a lowly 24th among the nation’s top 25 metro areas in growth and “economic clout” of women-owned companies, according to a 2014 study by American Express. So, what’s the matter with St. Louis women? Or are St. Louis men the source of the problem? “It’s both,” says Jennifer Ehlen, and she has made fixing that inequity her new career.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Hardware and home improvement retailer Menard Inc. plans to invest $29.1 million into a new manufacturing and distribution facility in Sullivan, Missouri, creating 129 new jobs. The new facility will include concrete block and truss manufacturing and a cross-dock distribution building.>> CLICK FOR MORE

It might seem strange, but one of Joe Reagan’s biggest assets in his role is that he’s not a St. Louis native: Prior to moving here in 2012 to take on his current job, he was President and CEO of Greater Louisville, Inc., a metro chamber of commerce, after working his way up from Chief Operating Officer. Before that, he was Executive Vice President of the Rockford [Illinois] Chamber of Commerce. In short, he understands relocation and transition, which is critical when he’s working to attract corporations, small business owners and entrepreneurs to town. Issac Newton’s quote, “Men build too many walls and not enough bridges,” is found in his Twitter bio and encapsulates his belief that the key to success is for St. Louis’ many communities to come together as one. >> CLICK FOR MORE

The St. Louis Economic Partnership announced Friday the appointment of Sheila Sweeney as the chief executive officer of the joint agency promoting business growth in St. Louis City and St. Louis County. Sweeney has served as interim director of the partnership since June. >> CLICK FOR MORE

The Department of Defense has awarded United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp., a $882 million contract to launch satellites for the U.S. Air Force. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Boeing wins $20 million Navy order for work in St. Louis (St. Louis Business Journal, 9/29/15)

Boeing Co. has been awarded a $19.75 million contract from the U.S. Navy. The contract calls for Boeing to provide engineering and logistics support services to improve readiness, expand Interactive Electronic Technical Manual/Structural Repair Manual work packages, and maintenance planning for the F/A-18 and E/A-18G aircraft.>> CLICK FOR MORE

What until Wednesday night was a parking lot is now the construction site for a $71 million student residence hall at St. Louis University. It will be the second building in a pair of dorms that the university is constructing. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Earlier this year, investigators at Saint Louis University enrolled the first U.S. patient in a worldwide Phase 3 clinical trial of a medication to treat patients who have a rare form of heart failure due to a gene mutation. The mutation results in transthyretin (ATTR)-mediated familial amyloidotic cardiomyopathy (FAC).>> CLICK FOR MORE

New Test to Detect Viruses in Humans and Animals (KMOX, 9/30/15)

A new test developed at Washington University has the ability to detect all viruses that infect people and animals. Currently it is a research tool and not a diagnostic ready for everyday medical use. Lead researcher Dr. Gregory Storch at Wash U says that it could be used one day in the future.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Workforce Campaign Kicks Off (Construction Forum STL. 9/29/15)

With 1,500 job openings expected in the manufacturing sector in Southwestern Illinois in the next five years, and an additional 1,200 jobs opening up in the trades, regional leaders today gathered to announce the launch of a marketing and outreach initiative to link today’s high school students to the career opportunities that lie ahead. Being led by the Madison-Bond and MidAmerica workforce investment boards, in collaboration with a variety of partners, the two-pronged campaign theme is Manufacture Your Future/Craft Your Future – A Career that Pays in Southwestern Illinois.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Trade & Investment Council Formed (Alton Daily News, 9/29/15)

With a meeting last week at SIUE, the Southwestern Illinois Trade and Investment Council has been launched. Bringing together 15 private sector exporters, the county board chairmen of Madison and St. Clair counties; two regional port representatives, three regional airport representatives, a freight forwarder and two banking representatives, the council hopes to provide a shot in the arm for commerce and job growth in the region. >> CLICK FOR MORE

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., today announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration has awarded $2,368,520 in funding to America’s Central Port District in Granite City to create jobs and aide the construction of critical infrastructure. The project is expected to support 250 local jobs and leverage up to $6.5 million in private investment. >> CLICK FOR MORE

St. Louis Construction Cooperative (formerly PRIDE of St. Louis Inc.) is honoring leadership in the St. Louis construction industry. At its eighth annual awards luncheon on August 27, 2015, the venerable labor-management organization saluted Monsanto which is currently investing $400 million to expand its research facilities in Chesterfield, MO. Monsanto received the 2015 Industry Impact Award. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Harvard students look for ways to improve MLK Drive in St. Louis as model for rest of nation (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 9/28/15)

For 17 years, Karen Bryant has watched her beloved neighborhood along Martin Luther King Drive deteriorate. Bryant, who does alterations from a storefront along King, can recite a long list of flourishing businesses that used to line the street. They all left. Now she’s left sandwiched between two vacant buildings.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Webster University took a significant step toward the future today. A groundbreaking ceremony was held at 11:30 a.m. today (Sept. 9) for the Interdisciplinary Science Building (ISB), a construction project that will triple the number of science labs on campus, support greater academic collaboration, and position the University to meet the region’s employment needs for decades to come. >> CLICK FOR MORE

What are we waiting for? (St. Louis American, 9/30/15)

When an Education Salute gala feels most down-home, most familial, it feels like what our inimitable emcee Carol Daniel, the KMOX news anchor, likes to call “our thing.” Carol is a thought leader and inspirational figure in our community, and she knows that we need “our thing,” or what the black millennials call “black spaces,” where we can celebrate in our own ways.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Metro East SBDC chosen to host 'InnovateHer' business competition (Illinois Business Journal, 9/15)

The U.S. Small Business Administration has selected the Illinois Metro East Small Business Development Center at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville as a local host organization for its “Innovating for Women” business competition.>> CLICK FOR MORE

SIUE School of Engineering gets accreditation through 2021 (Illinois Business Journal, 9/15)

The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Engineering’s programs have received continued accreditation by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology through as far as 2021. School officials say it's the result of a rigorous process that requires years of data collection and continuous improvement based on self-assessment. The school and each program do a comprehensive self-study, which is followed by a campus visit from a team of experts.>> CLICK FOR MORE

9 STL area schools honored as Blue Ribbon Schools KSDK, 9/29/15)

Eight Missouri public schools have been honored as 2015 Blue Ribbon Schools, and seven of them are in the St. Louis area. Two private schools in the St. Louis area have also received the honor.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Madison County awards Block Grant scholarships to students (Illinois Business Journal, 10/15)

Madison County Community Development announced it has awarded Community Services Block Grant scholarships to 14 county students. The CSBG Scholarship Program helps low-income Madison County residents finance higher education. Students enrolled in an Illinois college, university or vocational training program may qualify for a $1,500 CSBG Scholarship. Funds can be applied toward tuition, study-related fees and books. Individual scholarships are based on a student’s financial need. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Ferguson 1000 and the St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment (SLATE) are sponsoring a Ferguson 1000 Jobs Hiring Event, "Empowerment Through Employment and Entrepreneurship," on Oct. 17, from 9 a.m. to noon at St. Louis Community College-Forest Park, 5600 Oakland Ave.>> CLICK FOR MORE

In the year since the death of Michael Brown and the civil unrest that followed, the city of Ferguson has worked hard to repair its community fabric and rebuild a sense of safety and trust among its government, businesses, schools and other institutions. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Youth job program returning to Ferguson (KSDK, 9/30/15/)

Youth, aged 16 to 23, can apply for jobs through STL Youth Jobs-Ferguson Forward. The program funded by Emerson has returned for its second year to place more than 100 youth in positions from December 2015 to April 2016. >> CLICK FOR MORE

The Syrian civil war has displaced millions of refugees seeking a safe home. St. Louis was that safe place for thousands of Bosnians escaping genocide in their own country 25 years ago. Could we once again open our arms and welcome a new wave of refugees to our region? To Ed Martin from Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum, the answer is no. “America is the most generous group of people in the history of people,” he says in tonight’s Stay Tuned, airing at 7:00 p.m. on Nine PBS. >> CLICK FOR MORE